( , II,prlll(,

Motivators for
a Down Day

\"en highly successful trade", ha~c down day!! when thd r physical

E au<l ",notional ""~..gy le"cl is SO low Iha( Ihey would ra(her just
St.~y in be<J . As dillicull (IS (I,est' down days are 10 deal will" Ihey
are a" ,,,'e'.present j>art of the hmnan ex!"'''e".;e. Ead, trader ha.~ a finite
number of trading days in hl~ eare<>r, and therefore the is.~ue of down days
is relevant as each trading day counts I't'gardless of whether you make the
moslofiL
!keau,;., they are COnlmon, dow" days can make the difference be-
Iw,..,n being prof,t.~ble and losing mon"y in I.he nwrkelS. II is in' portanl
10 lean, how 10 li"'it Ihei r nunlber and how I" hand l ~ the'" wl ... n (h.'y <10
occur. T" accomplish (hi.~, it is imponallt (0 develop an understanding of
what causes d"wn ,by. mId Ond possible .olation.~.

"11 " •.Un' """AIi\' HI'II E M

Richanl has a lot "f down days. Lately, half of thi.~ 3,'>-year..,ld trarier's week
could be d<'SCribed as a down day On low..,ne..gy days. his work is PN-
fonnro al half speed . lie Ihinks slowly and aVOIds doing m'ything chal-
lenging. II<' coasts Ihrough Ihe day until dinnertime, hoping that he does
nol m,ke a major mistake or ml"" a great opportunily. Recently, his wlfc
l>ecaool~ SO co"".... n\t-d aoout I,is ene..gy I",'cllha( she forced him 10 get a
"'ilior phySical Chl'Ckup. lIis dodo' cou ld find noU'ing phySically wrong
hIli could "ot provide any dlanges to SlOP Ihe d"w" days. TilL. wa.. hi. sit·
uation ","hen he call~d me for h~lp . Th~ first Ihing was to isolate the callS('.